by Steven Wolff
Josh walks up and hands Howard a cold energy drink, “She’s on the other team, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What did she say?”
“She introduced herself, said that she was the ships communications specialist and how she was sorry about the loss of my dad. I said thanks, told her my role, and before she left – she reminded me that Rick and his buddy aren’t anyone to mess with because they can be vindictive jerks.”
“I’m glad he’s not on our team then.” Josh says sipping from his drink.
“Yeah me too.”
“We should probably head back to class. Break is almost over.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Space X Training Facility Classroom – Day 3
The next day Mr. Dunningberg stands behind his podium and waits till the last student sits down, then waits till all eyes are on him.
“Good morning class. Over the last couple of days, I know I have given you lots of information to process. Today, we’re going to go over everything we talked about and run a few more simulations with the VR/AR headsets. Tomorrow – will be the real deal. Ready or not, you will be going into space. There are no second chances, no turning back… you either know the material I’ve given you, or you don’t. So take everything I say and commit it to memory. Remember, what you don’t know, will kill you – or one of your crew mates. If this sounds harsh – tough nuggets! You can hate me all you want, but my job is to give you everything you need to know in just 96 hours. Normally it takes months to years to learn all that but you’re getting the stripped down version. I’m sorry but I don’t make the rules. Now if you would, get in your respective groups and put your headsets on. Group 2, we are going to reboot the landing simulation. Your landing yesterday has a lot to be desired and we’re going to keep reloading it until you get it right. Alright, we’re approaching the asteroid…”
They go through the sequence they’ve been taught when Mr. Dunningberg asks over the headset, “Who’s the pilot again?”
Josh raises his hand, “I am.”
“Guess what Josh? You’re dead!”
Alarms go off and the simulation shows a giant sliver of rock piercing the hull of the ship, killing Josh in the virtual reality.
“Group 2, a giant meteor spike just breeched the hull and skewered your pilot Josh. He’s now a shish kabob! What are you going to do?”
“Uh… are we losing cabin pressure?” Howard asks, as he sees glances over and sees Josh slumped over in the virtual simulation.”
“No, it’s the meteor has wedged itself tightly.”
“I guess I’ll try to land on the asteroid. I’m taking over the secondary controls.”
“The asteroid is tumbling slowly, end over end.” The instructor says.
“I’m matching its speed… attempting to do a barrel roll in the same direction as its rotating. Reducing speed… Firing navigation-thrusters in small bursts.”
The classroom watches through their VR/AR headsets as Howard tries to land on the surface of the asteroid. The space craft’s landing gear touches down briefly, but quickly bounces off the surface and away from the asteroid.
“You’re losing it.” The instructor warns.
“Firing overhead thrusters at full power… trying to stay on the surface…”
“Thrusters aren’t enough. The asteroid is now moving away – and there’s no way to catch up with it. Mission Failed!”
“Ugh! What did I do wrong? I fired the overhead thrusters! I did everything right.” Howard asks while taking off his headset quickly.
“You didn’t compensate for the weak gravity field of the asteroid.” Mr. Dunningberg says to the class. “If you’re not careful, you’ll either bounce hard off the surface, or break the landing gear – potentially damaging the ship. Then they’ll be two crashed ships on the asteroid!”
“Ha-ha, dumbasses.” Rick says aloud.
“What’s your problem?” Howard asks.
“You! You’re the problem.”
“Hey, none of that!” Mr. Dunningberg says, “Just because you nailed the landing Rick doesn’t mean that you’re better than Howard. You probably just got lucky.”
The whole class collectively “Ooo’s” as the instructor continues.
“Out there in space, there are a million things that can go wrong. Who knows what you will encounter. Like I said, it’s okay to make mistakes here in the classroom. In fact I want you to screw up here than up there in space. Let’s reload the simulation. Remember, the asteroid is made mostly of iron. It’s not going to give – so compensate for that.”
“Am I still dead?” Josh asks.
“Yes, you’re still dead.”
“Darn.”
Several hours later and countless failed attempts, the frustration in the room can be felt in the air. Regardless who’s piloting, Group 2 struggles with nailing the landing. Mr. Dunningberg releases the class for lunch break – as everyone quickly leaves for some fresh outside air.
Howard and Josh are slumped over, sitting on a concrete wall while staring blankly at the ground. In their mind, they are replaying the countless simulations that keep resulting in failure. Josh closes his eyes and rubs his face with the palms of his hands.
“Ugh. We’re not ready.” He says.
Howard is fidgeting with a piece of twig, broken off the tree behind them. He’s snapping it in tiny pieces and throwing it on the ground in frustration when Rick walks by and stops.
“Did you just throw something at me, losers?”
“No, not intentionally. Sorry, I was just deep in thought.”
“Awww, are you worried about not being able to land? You should be! I’ll tell you what, we’ll land on that asteroid and you guys can watch since that’s all you’re good at! Ha ha ha ha!”
Rick and his crew walk away laughing and snickering… all except one – Alonna, who looks back over her shoulder with a sad look on her face.
Josh squints his eyes in anger, “I should go and kick his ass!” He says under his voice.
“What’s the point? He’s right. How are we going to land on a moving asteroid if we can’t even land on a virtual one?”
“Dude, don’t think like that. He’s just being a jerk. Screw him! We have a great team and we’ll figure it out. You just wait and see!”
Howard turns his head and looks at Josh with a smile, “How is it you can always be so positive and optimistic?”
Before he can answer the rest of Howard’s team walks up and starts talking, “Can’t believe this time tomorrow we’ll be heading to outer space!” April says with a huge grin on her face, “How exciting!”
Howard turns and looks at April, “You’re not a bit concerned that we’ll botch the landing,” he asks trying not to be a negative Nancy, “with all the failed attempts?”
“Not at all… It’s just a simulation.” April says confidently. “I’ve played my fair share of video games and the stuff we’re going through in the classroom is so much harder than real life. Besides, how in the hell do they know what it’s going to be like on the asteroid? They don’t!”
“I agree with April.” Chantal says with her thick French accent, “We have the best crew and we will make it there and back!”
Josh nudges Howard, “See, I told you. We’ve got this.”
Tank asks, “I just hope there’s something for us to shoot!”
Captain Whitfield puts his hand up on Tank’s shoulder, “Don’t worry buddy, we’ll find something for you to shoot.”
“As long as you’re not shooting as us – or firing any weapons around me – that would be splendid.” Edward says with a raised eyebrow.
Howard stands up with his confidence renewed, “You guys are right. We’ll deal with whatever comes at us one problem at a time.”
Mr. Dunningberg opens the door and holds it open, “alright guys, come back in.”
Once inside the classroom, both groups give their undivided attention to the instructor.
“C
ongratulations… we’ve reached the end of your classroom training, but the lessons and things you learn hopefully won’t stop here. There’s always something new to understand and I hope I’ve instilled in you a sense of curiosity and purpose. An open mind and willingness to learn will unlock many opportunities in life, so I hope you take full advantage of it. Never be afraid to ask why, or say I don’t know. It just means you haven’t learned that particular lesson yet. If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this classroom – it’s this… failure isn’t a process, but an end result from given up on trying. By the way, none of you are failures because there are no failures in my classroom. I’ve watched you struggle, squirm, and increasingly grow frustrated – but no matter what I threw at you… you didn’t give up. You kept trying, even in no-win scenarios. That’s why I believe you are going to succeed. Many people don’t… because they gave up long before trying. You cannot win if you don’t try. Did you know, you have a 50% chance of success if you at least try, verses a 100% chance of failure if you don’t? I can give a blind man a bow and arrow and he has a better chance at hitting the target than the one who says why bother. It’s all in your attitude… what’s in your head.” He says pointing to his noggin.
“Oh, and worrying isn’t going to change the outcome of something happening either way. If something is going to happen, nothing you do will change the outcome. Imagine a car is stopped in the middle of railroad tracks…. worrying about it getting hit by a train isn’t going to make the train not hit it. It’s still going to happen no matter what. If you change your attitude then you can hope for the best… like I hope they can get their car running and get out of the way. You can also do something about the car being stuck… like push it out of the way. We all have the power to do things. We can do nothing, or we can do something… the choice is up to each of us.”
He walks out from around the podium and paces around the room, looking at everyone staring back at him.
“I have also taught you the basics of what you need to know for surviving out in space. You have learned that you will be challenged and pushed beyond what you are physically and mentally capable of, and that there are some situations you simply cannot win. If you find yourself in such a scenario, I hope the caliber of your character is one that’s so high, that you will do what is right – even if it means sacrificing your life for the greater good. All throughout history, there have been men and women who laid down their lives so that others can live. I hope it never comes to that, but instead – I hope you succeed in going up into space and being the first ones there to the asteroid. There’s a possibility one of you in this classroom will be the first human to ever make contact with an alien race. Talk about firsts. Wow!”
The classroom laughs and continues listening.
“Since the dawn of time, man has asked the questions ‘are we alone in the universe or is someone else out there?’ Obviously, we’re not and that’s a good thing – because there’s still so much to learn from each other. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen people split further and further apart… and that makes me sad. We need each other. We need to be able to agree to disagree. Diversity isn’t a bad thing or something to be feared. It’s something to be embraced, but it seems we are shying away from it. Embrace it! Who knows if someone has a better way of doing things? That’s why the Neanderthals died off and the Cro-Magnon evolved, it’s because the Neanderthals kept to themselves. They stayed in small groups and hated diversity unlike the Cro-Magnon who learned to work together – sharing tools, techniques, and food with others. They benefited by helping each other succeed. You are about to go into space tomorrow and you will need to pull together in order to succeed as well. The journey will be long and you’re going to be in very tight quarters. That means there’s no doubt you’re going to get sick of each other. Your mannerisms, your picking your nose, your smell. Try really hard to control your anger and not kill one another. Also, remember that some of you are going to fall head over heels in love. If that happens, try not to rock the ship – because it may literally send you off course.”
The class giggles and laughs.
“Alright, that’s all I have to say. We’re done here! Good luck up there, remember the world is counting on you! – Class dismissed.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Launch Pad 39A – Launch Day
Both groups are being suited up and inspected individually by the Space X flight preparation crew. Josh has a giant playful grin on his face as he approaches Howard wearing his astronaut suit, “Ssssshhhh I am your father, Luke. Ssssshhhh.”
Howard rolls his eyes as others witnessing the silliness laugh along. Howard suddenly stands up, pointing at him, “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die! Voosh, Voosh!”
April leans over to Edward and asks softly, “Are they???”
Howard swings an invisible light saber, dualing with Josh, “Voosh, Voosh!”
“I’m afraid they are… mixing Star Wars with The Princess Bride.”
“Aaagh! Curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal! Voosh Voosh!”
Edward leans over to April, “I’m afraid it’s now Firefly…”
“Your Swartz is as big as mine!”
“Space Balls…” Edward continues.
The Investor walks in with a serious look on his face, “Are you two done clowning around?”
Howard and Josh quickly straight up, trying to look professional.
“You are about to go into the harshest environment known to man… outer space, where any number of things can kill you in a heartbeat. I suggest you take this mission seriously or you will most-likely die. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes sir!” They both answer at the same time.
The Investor walks past Rick and his team, who are standing confidently and proud. He stands and faces Rick who isn’t intimated by his presence.
“Just as a reminder, we are sending two ships not because we doubt you won’t succeed, but because we’re doubling down on your success. Should something happen to one ship, the other can pick up the slack… and vice versa. Your main mission – is to get to that asteroid, salvage what you can and get back to earth. Remember, you will be in the vacuum of space, so weight shouldn’t be an issue. If you need to tie a rope around it and tow it behind your ship – I don’t care. Just get it back to earth – preferably in one piece.”
April raises her hand.
“What is it?” Dunningberg asks.
“Won’t the technology burn up in the atmosphere once we bring it back to Earth?”
“The guys at Space-X already came up with a plan to wrap a heat shield around it while it’s still in orbit. That will protect it from burning up in re-entry, but you don’t need to worry about that. For now, just go and retrieve it.”
Tank raises his hand and asks, “What if we encounter aliens? Do we get to shoot them?”
“If you encounter an alien species and it’s hostile – then by all means eradicate it. If it’s friendly – try to befriend it and bring it back with you. An intelligent alien being is just as valuable to us as the crashed ship.”
“What if it doesn’t want to come back with us?” Chantal asks with her French accent.
The Investor turns and looks at her, “I don’t care what it wants. Your orders are to bring that ship and anything on it – back to earth, dead or alive. Do I make myself clear?”
Rick and his team blurts out, “Yes sir!”
The Investor turns his head and notices Howard’s group is hesitant in answering.
“Is there a problem?” He asks with a certain annoyance in his voice.
“No sir.” Howard replies with a trembling voice.
The Investor looks at April, Chantal, Edward, Josh, Tank and Whitfield in a menacing way, “And the rest of you?”
“No sir.” They collectively say in a low mumble.
“Good.”
The Investor walks out of the room, leaving it so silent you can hear a p
in drop.
“If that’s not motivational, I don’t know what is.” Josh says sarcastically.
Both teams finish suiting up and being boarding their respective ships. While being strapped in, one of the Space X crew asks, “What would you like to name this space craft?”
“You’re giving me a choice of what to name it?”
“Sure, why not? You’re the mission commander, you’re in charge… you get to pick the call sign.”
“Do you mind if I ask my crew? I think they deserve a say in it.”
“Go for it.”
“What do you think guys?”
Josh is quick to answer, “Oooo, let’s call it… Voyager!”
“Dude, we’re not calling this ship Voyager. That’s too… Star Trek.”
“How about… Enterprise?”
Howard’s face turns to sadness, “That was the name of the space shuttle that just blew up. The one my dad was on.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry bro! I totally forgot and mean no disrespect.”
April chimes in, “How about Roll Tide?” She says with a big grin.
Tank adds, “I say we call our ship Devastator!”
Edward rolls his eyes, “If anything, we should name this ship after intelligent renaissance scholars who contributed to society – like Galileo!” He says pointing his finger in the air.
Chantal adds, “Oooo! I know!” She says in her French accent. “How about Sérénité?”
Josh smiles and flirts, “That’s so beautiful when you say it… what’s that mean?”
“It means… Serenity in French.”
Howard notices everyone’s faces light up in approval.
“How do you say it again?”
“Sérénité”
“Would you be offended if we just say Serenity? It’s just easier.”
“It means the same thing, so I’m okay with that.”
“Okay, we’re calling this ship Serenity.” Howard says to the Space X crew member. They nod and check the seatbelts and helmets before giving a final thumbs up sign, “Alright, you guys are good to go. No matter what happens, you are already Earth’s heroes. Everyone’s rooting for you… including me. So sit back and enjoy the ride… we’ll get you out into space – you do the rest.”